Industry Penalties
Unlawfully discharging an extinguishing agent
Under Section 45A of the OP&SGG Act it is an offence to unlawfully discharge scheduled substances to the atmosphere.
A person will be guilty of an offence if he or she engages in conduct that results in a discharge where it is likely that the discharge will enter into the atmosphere. This section will not apply if the discharge of a scheduled substance is being used for its designed purpose such as extinguishing a fire.
An offence against this section of the Act carries a fine of 100 penalty units.
Handling an extinguishing agent without an appropriate licence
Regulation 302 of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Regulations 1995 states that:
1. On or after 1 November 2005, a person must not handle an extinguishing agent that is, or has been, for use in fire protection equipment unless he or she holds:
a. an extinguishing agent handling licence;
b. special circumstances exemption that covers the handling of the agent; or
c. if the extinguishing agent is halon – a halon special permit.
Penalty: 10 penalty units:
2. For subregulation (1), handle an extinguishing agent means to do anything with the extinguishing agent (other than to use it to prevent, control or extinguish a fire or suppress an explosion) that carries the risk of its emission, including:
a. decanting the extinguishing agent; or
b. installing or maintaining fire protection equipment; or
c. decommissioning or disposing of fire protection equipment.
Depending on the particular activities to be conducted, a person who handles an extinguishing agent may require one or more of the six extinguishing agent handling licences.
Possessing halons
Regulation 304 makes it an offence to possess halon that is, or has been used, for use in fire protection equipment.
This is in response to the very aggressive way halons can destroy the ozone layer. In fact one kilogram of halon 1211 can destroy 50 tonnes of ozone and it has been estimated that halon and other bromine sources are responsible for 25 per cent of the chemical destruction of ozone over Antarctica and 50 per cent over the Arctic.
However, the Act recognises that there are some situations where there are currently no alternatives to halon such as in aircraft and large marine vessels. These are listed in regulation 304 (4). The Act therefore allows for the granting of a halon special permit to allow for the possession of halon.
- Penalty for possessing halon without the appropriate Permit is 10 penalty units.
- Penalty for handling an extinguishing agent or possessing halon without the appropriate licences is 10 penalty units.
Trading in extinguishing agents
Under regulation 303 it is an offence to possess, trade or dispose of bulk extinguishing agents without an extinguishing agent trading authorisation.
In this regulation bulk extinguishing agent means an extinguishing agent that is for use or has been used in fire protection equipment but does not include an agent that is already contained in fire protection equipment.
- Penalty for operating without an extinguishing agent trading authorisation 10 penalty units. However, should the extinguishing agent be found to be discharging due to lack of appropriate facilities, an offence for discharging scheduled substance could arise and these carry a penalty of 100 penalty units.